Fahrenheit 451
The Hearth and the Salamander
Reading Comprehension Questions

1) The country is not at peace. The country defends itself no matter what. Jets fly across the sky, meaning there is a war. 2) Captain Beatty seems to be directing Montag’s remarks at the fire station. Montag’s comments make the other firemen suspicious because he talks about how all firemen resembles a mirror image of him, and asks why don’t they prevent fires instead of burning the books. 3) The alarm at the old woman’s house is so “inconvenient” because usually before the firemen arrived at the house and the occupants had already been arrested and taken away. However, in this call, she was still at home. 4) Beatty says that none of the books agree with each other, many are lies about people who never actually lived, and it’s against the law for people to have books. 5) Montag is sick to his stomach because Mildred tells him that Clarrise’s family had moved away and she had got it by a car. Mildred had forgotten to tell Montag four days ago, but she couldn’t tell him if she was sure or not. 6) The ever-increasing speed of society affected books according to Beatty by people watching things on the television, short version of books, and the advancement of technology. 7) The advancement in technology over books was the most important thing in society. Such as classics cut to fifteen or twenty minute shows, politics being two sentence headliner, and books being cut right to the information. 8) The objections of minority groups affected books by minority groups being offensive by certain types of literature, leading to censorship. 9) Comics, confessions, and trade journals are left for people to read. 10) Beatty made a unspoken “deal” that if Montag had handed over the books, the whole incident would be looked over.

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...Thought
Imagine a world with no free thought and where reading books is viewed as a threat to society and the happiness of its citizens. Ray Bradbury did just this in his novel Fahrenheit451. Concerned by the rise of technology and the relationship between burning books and burning people, Bradbury sought to highlight the dangerous path that society is on, one that could lead to mindlessness and thoughtlessness. In Fahrenheit451, Bradbury challenges thoughtlessness and promotes freethinking through the construction of his characters. He uses the character of Mildred and her friends to show the consequences of a superficial, dumbed-down society that focuses on pleasure, while Montag and Clarisse show the power and importance of free thought.
Mildred is presented in Fahrenheit451 as the epitome of the thoughtless society where knowledge has given way to entertainment. Mildred is the victim of a pleasure-driven society, she has been drawn into the trappings of technology which have then made her dull and destroyed her free thought. Mildred is constantly watching the ‘parlour’ and calls it the ‘family’, showing that in this society technology has replaced genuine relationships. She listens to the seashell every night which insinuates a dependence on the technology.
In fact, the first time that we meet Mildred she is described as dead, “like a body displayed on the...

...Her poisoned, replaceable blood signifies the empty lifelessness of Mildred and the countless others like her.
“The Hearth and the Salamander”
Bradbury uses this conjunction of images as the title of the first part of Fahrenheit451. The hearth, or fireplace, is a traditional symbol of the home; the salamander is one of the official symbols of the firemen, as well as the name they give to their fire trucks. Both of these symbols have to do with fire, the dominant image of Montag’s life—the hearth because it contains the fire that heats a home, and the salamander because of ancient beliefs that it lives in fire and is unaffected by flames.
The hearth is a symbol of the home, and the salamander is a symbol of the firemen.
Back in the day, Gangs used to protect the hood it represented and made sure enemies do not step foot on their property. Currently, Gangs hurt random innocent people, and do despicable things. This relates to Fahrenheit451, how Firemen used to put out fires, opposed to setting them. Firemen would save citizens from house fires or building fires and assemble rescue teams for more safety. However, the Firemen described in the book, set fires by burning people’s homes and personal assets like BOOKS. For Montag, Fire can be classified in two ways; depression (in the beginning) and warmth and comfort (in the end). The salamander is...

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Dreams that Destroy Freedom
American culture thrives on being ‘the land of the free’. The rags-to-riches story to the immigrant success story, seem to define the American Dream. We are told that these achievements can be done by adapting to America’s ideals and cultural norms. The ‘American Dream’ is attainable for those who fall in step with the majority. This conformity is illustrated in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit451. In the novel, Guy Montag becomes disillusioned with the illiterate ignorance of his society. Through a series of tragic events, Montag finds the vapid world must be changed. This change will be the only way to attain true knowledge, thus freedom. This society, based in ‘fiction’, echoes many of the same values encouraged by the American Dream. By considering the values of media influence, ideal appearance and importance of the nature, it is clear that the American Dream in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit451 makes its occupants ignorant and selfish. .
Within Bradbury’s Fahrenheit, media is used as tool to eliminate a thoughtful society. The government creates ignorance through the empty television programming the citizens are exposed to. For example, Montag arrives home and finds Mildred and her guests watching senseless streams of incoherent images. As Montag watches the women from a removed area of the room while the walls projected, “Abruptly...

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Fahrenheit451 in Today’s World
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When the novel’s main character, Guy Montag, commits a great crime and is being searched for, a man that was thought to be Montag was killed, while the real Montag escaped successfully. Describing this situation, Ray Bradbury writes: “The camera fell upon the victim, even as did the Hound. Both reached him simultaneously. The victim was seized by the Hound and camera in a great spidering, clenching grip. He screamed. He screamed. He screamed!” (149). In this case, the government killed an innocent civilian just so that they would not be blamed for letting Montag escape. Today, there are a few instances where the government has done exactly the same thing. For...

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Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit451 is a good example of censorship and restriction and the results of what can happen because of this. Ray Bradbury predicts in his novel that the future is without literature -- everything from newspapers to novels to the Bible. This novel is about a world that is so structured and censored that even a common fireman exist not to fight fires, for all buildings are fireproof, but instead to burn books. Books are made to be thought of as evil and anyone caught with books hidden in their home is forced out of it while the firemen force their way in and turn the house into an inferno. Fahrenheit451 is a horrific account of what could happen in an all too close future when society carries "political correctness" to its extreme. Set in the 24th century, Ray Bradbury tells a story of the protagonist, Guy Montag. At first, Montag takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, Montag soon begins to question the value of his profession and, in turn, his life. He begins to wonder why some people are willing to sacrifice their lives to keep their books. In a society where censorship and restrictions are in force, always a few people will resist this control and seek to find the answers. Montag becomes one of these people as he begins to question “why” reading...

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Rough Draft #1
451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns (Lenhoff). In Fahrenheit451, Ray Bradbury is trying to teach the reader about the dangers of books and history as seen in characters, symbols, and events. Bradbury’s novel is about a future American society where books are outlawed and firemen are told they have to burn any house that has books in it. Books are banned because they contain contradictory ideas and can confront the comfortable prejudices and ignorance that abounds (Zacharias). Beatty is the chief at the firehouse. Fahrenheit451 describes a country caught in the grip of both an external war with another power, and a civil war between city dwellers and ragtag anarchists (McNamee).
The main character in the book is Guy Montag. His job is to be a fireman, and he has to burn books as they are discovered hidden in people’s homes (Zacharias). It is a crime to own books in this community. The government uses fire departments to enforce this ban (Lenhoff). The firemen in this futuristic society aren’t the same as ours today; instead of putting out fires, they set books on fire. All of the buildings are “fireproofed”; the structure itself can’t catch on fire but the contents of the house, including books, will all burn.
No one in the community has ever really questioned about...

...they all shared a common viewpoint. This view, was expressed in many different ways, all sharing the same meaning. What is this? As E.E. Cummings said, "The hardest battle you will ever fight is the battle to be yourself and never stop fighting it" they all thought that in our world, it is very hard to bend with the wind, yet still be yourself. How do different Authors portray this? All with their own style of writing, in the forms of essays, novels, teachings, and many others
I believe that trying to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to change who you are is the hardest thing you will ever do.
It is very rare to find in this time period, a novel so clear in it's message against peer pressure. One of these treasures -Fahrenheit451, by Ray Bradbury, is devoted to denouncing the, "Ignorance is bliss" mind set of most people in the time period it is set in. This novel provides a glance into a bleak world similar to our own, where war is common, feelings are shunned, family is non-existent, and intense though is no longer needed. And who should be the policemen of this world of ignorance? The "firemen." Not unlike the firemen in our world today, they dress alike, drive big trucks, and wail their loud sirens., however, There is one fundamental difference, these firemen start fires; they cleanse the country of evil books and of their sin. And who should play the heartless, unfeeling, cold-warm fireman but Guy Montag. His father was...